Abbas rejects idea of Palestinian state within temporary borders

Published April 24th, 2010 - 12:49 GMT

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state within temporary borders.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state within temporary borders. In a speech to leaders of his Fatah movement, Abbas called on Israel to resume serious negotiations on the terms of full Palestinian statehood, adding that such talks should endwithin two years.

In his speech, Abbas referred to recent proposals — apparently from Israel — for a temporary state. "Frankly, we will not accept the state with temporary borders, because it is being offered these days," he said, according to the AP. He said the Palestinians were being asked to "take a state with provisional borders on 40 or 50 percent, and after that we will see."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also brushed aside the notion when asked about it Friday. "So there's a lot of ideas that have been floated around, but at the end of the day it's only the Israelis and Palestinians who can make decisions for themselves," she said.